Right
out of the clear blue sky comes a space shooter with
no pretensions, no excuses and it takes no prisoners.
Space Interceptor: Project Freedom has the kind of
name that most self-respecting gamers would cringe
from, or at least ignore. The fact that it's a budget
title may also taint your perception. But you can't
always judge a game by its title. Space Interceptor
is an accessible, space sim shooter that offers lots
of action, a hearty challenge and some arcade-style
fun.

You're
the top gun that works for a "good" corporation
which is engaged in colonizing the galaxy. "Bad"
people want a piece of the action and are constantly
threatening the "good" corporation's employees
and assets. In space, the only law is the law of the
laser - and the photon torpedo and plasma glob and
missiles .

As
with many such games, the story is unimportant. You
will have a fleet of spacecraft accompany you on many
missions which include the requisite rescue, search
and destroy and escort. What matters is that you shoot
the hell out of anything that doesn't belong to your
corporation. Battles will be fought against single
fighters as well as squads, huge capital battleships,
enemy installations and even giant mechs on the planets'
surfaces.

Your
own fleet will be of little use to you although they
will manage to hit the odd target now and again. You'll
be doing most of the work yourself which can get intense,
especially when you encounter a fleet of enemy ships.
The huge battleships aren't much of a problem. Attack
them in sections, destroying the weapons areas and
you won't have much trouble. Strangely these ships
don't seem to put up much of a fight.

Most
of the controls are handled by the mouse. Click right
or left to fire the primary and secondary weapons,
and move the wheel to accelerate. There are no retro-rockets
so you can never stop or back up. The simple control
system works great and can be learned by anyone in
a few seconds, and mastered in a few minutes. Mastering
the game is another story. Although a skilled player
could get through it in an afternoon, the average
player would be well advised to play the 21 levels
over a week or two. There are no modes, unlockables
or multi-player modes so once the game is over there
is no reason to play it again.

It's
sometimes hard to read all of the HUD displays, especially
the damage to the enemy ship. Pounding away at an
enemy ship can be a bit of a drag especially when
you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Locations
such as the asteroid belt and the planet Jupiter have
an epic, polished, 3D look to them that is unusual
for such a budget title. But who's complaining? The
crafts are nicely detailed and the physics of space
seems realistic enough. The sound effects are dry
and a little on the cheesy side. Voiceacting is relegated
to radio communication. It's repetitive and annoying.
The music comes in spurts and fits well within the
context of the genre as the generic techno beats get
the adrenaline flowing.

Space
Interceptor is an old-school, space shooter that was
designed to entertain. Developers City Interactive
has done its homework to produce a no-frills game
that is literally guaranteed to be fun. You can purchase
a physical copy of the game or download it off the
net. If you don't have fun with it, the publisher
will exchange it for another game in their arsenal.
That's an offer you can't afford to refute.